Mercedes whisked the covers off the new A-class on the eve of the 2012 Geneva motor show. As predicted, it's a lower, sleeker, more Golf-like alternative to the Golf, sitting 18cm closer to thetarmac. These first official pictures of the new 2012 Mercedes A-class prove the 'tallboy' look is over for good and the production car closely apes the look of the Concept A-class.

MINI Countryman John Cooper Works is official
The MINI Countryman John Cooper Works has been revealed ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. We had MINI teasing with a glimpse of the MINI Countryman JCW playing in the snow back in December, with a few bits of camouflage tape obscuring the money shot. And now we learn that just about all the camouflage was covering were the thumping great stripes the Countryman JCW sports.

Every year, as hundreds of new cars and trucks pass through our fleet for evaluation, we are always on the lookout for those dazzling few deserving more careful scrutiny for our top honors, the Autoweek Best of the Best. It's down to three cars and three trucks that our regular readers quickly will recognize in the video above, designed to whet your appetite as we get further along in the judging. We'll be bringing you full details on our Best of the Best/Car and Best of the Best/Truck finalists in the coming days, along with updates as we get closer to announcing our winners in the December 23 issue of Autoweek.